Security

Italy: Gays targeted in letter bomb attack in Rome

Rome, 2 Sept. (AKI) - There was widespread panic when two letter bombs were thrown at a bar in a gay neighbourhood in the centre of the Italian capital Rome late Tuesday in an escalation of anti-gay violence. Italian media reports said the explosive devices were thrown from two motorcycles.

Several people were injured in the attack, and one was taken to nearby San Giovanni Hospital for aid.

"It all happened very quickly unleashing panic in the streets. There were people screaming and running everywhere," said the president of Italy's national gay rights organisation, Arcigay, Fabrizio Marrazzo, quoted by Italian media.

"If anyone would have been closer [to the explosions], someone would have lost their life," Arcigay said on the organisation's website on Wednesday.

There has been a number of violent incidents against gays in Rome in recent weeks.

Last Wednesday, a gay woman was threatened by a youth in the same street where Tuesday's attacks occurred, while in a separate incident, a gay couple was brutally attacked.

One of the men suffered a head wound and the other was knifed in the abdomen.

A gay singer was also attacked a few weeks ago in Rome, while vandals also tried torching a gay disco while it was closed.